It Hurts Here
by Yosuke
Summary: Nina was just a four year old girl who had done nothing wrong, but her father did something terrible to her. Nina, somehow, had the strength to bear it all. One-shot from Nina's POV, based on Night of the Chimera's Cry.


It Hurts Here  
Yosuke  
Drama/Angst  
PG-13

AN: Dunno if anyone's done a story like this, but I'm realy interested in trying, so I'll give it a shot. This is my first Fullmetal Alchemist story, and surprisingly enough, it has virtually nothing to do with Ed or Al. I recently rewatched the episode with Nina again and decided to try a story based on that episode from Nina's perspective. Gonna be harder than it sounds... I'm throwing all grammar to the wind!

As a note, everyone knows Nina has a speech impediment in the show, but that would make this story really weird-sounding, so I'm gonna type without it and you all can just insert her voice in as you please. If I wrote with her impediment, all the sentences would sound like: "I walked twu da doow and saw my daddy sitting dewe. I smiyed." That's kinda annoying to write (Nothing against ppl with that speech impediment or anything).

Hagane not mine.

* * *

Hello! My name is Nina, and I'm four years old! I have a dog named Alexander, who's really big and furry! I live in a BIG house with lotsa rooms. My daddy got us this house! He's a State Alchemist, and really good at it, too! He makes lotsa neat things, but spends a lot of his time reading books and writing stuff. Especially lately. But it's okay, 'cause I know he's doing it for us. Daddy's studying for an test the other State Alchemists are giving him. He hasta make something really cool so he can keep being a State Alchemist. Two years ago, he made something really incredible, but I didn't get to see it 'cause daddy wouldn't let me. Besides, he wanted me to write a letter to mommy to let her know how things were going. Oh, yeah... Mommy left us. She didn't want to be with daddy anymore, and left before I even got to say bye. All her stuff is still here... Daddy's getting rid of it little by little. I wrote mommy lotsa letters to ask her to get her stuff so daddy wouldn't throw out all her pretty clothes and jewelery, and I even drew her pictures so she would be happy, but she's never written back... It makes me sad, but my daddy says mommy's in a good place now. 

I still hope I get to see mommy again soon.

Everything feels like it's getting better now, especially since Daddy is having so much trouble with the test, or the "azezment". He doesn't know what to make for the others, so he's thinking a lot. I was worrying a lot, but since bigger brother and little big brother came by, I get to play a lot more than worry! Little big brother (his name is actually Edward, or Ed for short,) gets to play with Alexander a lot since Alexander likes jump on him and chase him around, and steal his shiny new watch he just got. I laugh at that everytime. It's funny how smart he can be sometimes, and it's ever funnier when Ed chases Alexander all over the yard for it. Bigger brother, or Al, stands and watches a lot. I have a feeling it's because he can't play with them. If he did, someone might get hurt. Big brother is actually the little brother, but he's so big and metal, like he's covered in pots and pans! I think it'd be okay if played. He's always so nice, I can't possibly see him hurting anyone. Little big brother, though, always looks like he's fighting someone. Alexander jumps on him so much, Ed's always yelling at him!

I remember when they first got here! I was so happy 'cause I finally had someone to play with! But the first thing I saw was Alexander sitting on little big brother, and I scolded him. But he's still such a funny dog. Then we all went inside. Big brothers were with another State Alchemist, a taller man with black hair and an unhappy face. I'm not sure if I liked him very much. And I don't think little big brother liked him much either. But after a while, Daddy sent me to play with Alexander in the yard. So I did, though I really wanted to stay and play with big brothers. Bigger brother promised we'd play later, so I kept that in mind when I went to go play with Alexander out into the yard. 

When I came back, brothers were too busy to play. They were reading the books in Daddy's library, setting out papers and drawing on them. I got a little jeoulous. They said they'd play with me, and all they do is draw! So I went in with them and started drawing, too. I couldn't draw what they were drawing, so I just made up my own pictures and called it "studying" like they did for theirs. They just laughed and continued reading. After a while, I grabbed one of MY favorite books and sat next to little big brother and read it while he read his own. It was one of Daddy's bigger books, a huge one with lotsa words I couldn't read and hardly any pictures. I didn't see what was so fun about that book and why he'd want to read it. If there's no pictures, how can you tell what's going on in the story? I asked them that, and they said, "There's no story to this. It's all scientific research and data. We're studying it to become betting alchemists." I had absolutely no idea what that meant, so I just went back to my book until we had to go eat dinner.

* * *

A few days passed. The air was getting colder and the skies were getting a little darker. One morning I woke up and it was really chilly in my room. I went to my window and looked out and saw nothing but white! It had snowed last night! When I touched the window, it was so cold, it stung me! And when I put my mouth to the glass and breathed on it, it made it all foggy. I drew a face in the foggy part and giggled. Brothers would really want to see this! I got dressed real fast and ran to their room, but they weren't in there. So I went to the library. Right outside of it, bigger brother was there, carrying a tray with a glass on it from the room and muttering something about "Ed being short 'cause he didn't drink his milk". I ran up to him quickly, yelling, "It's snowy! It's snowy! Let's go play! Please?" Bigger brother went to look out a window and I heard him gasp. "Yeah, it did snow, didn't it? Wow, it's pretty!" Then he looked at me. "Let's go play outside, Nina!" I was so happy! I hadn't played in the snow for so long! So me and bigger brother got Alexander and we all went outside to play. I asked if little big brother wanted to come, and bigger brother said, "No, let him study. I don't think we could drag him away from that room even if we tried." I laughed and ran right into the snow, pulling him along by the hand. "Let's make a snowman!"

We started building a big snowman, but then Alexander must've thought it was little big brother because we made it so short, and he tackled it right over. I scolded him, but bigger brother just laughed, and we tried again. As we did, the front door opened and little big brother came out, holding a hand in front of his eyes. It must've been too bright for him with all the white snow around. He saw us playing, and we told him to join us. He did, jumping right in and making snow angels with us. It was so much fun! And then he did something amazing! He made something in the snow; it was funny circle he drew with a stick. When I asked him what it was, he said it helped him make wishes come true. Then he put his hands on the circle, and light came out of it! That must've been the alchemy they were all studying! And then he made magic flowers come out of the snow! It was amazing, and they were so pretty! So I made them into a crown and wore them, but as I did that, a man in a coat and glasses came towards us. Little big brother knew who he was. His name was Major Hughes. I called him Mr. Hughes. He told us today was little big brother's birthday, and that we were all going to celebrate!

We all went to Mr. Hughes' home, where we met his wife, who had a really BIG belly! She was going to have a baby real soon, and they both couldn't wait. When she asked if we wanted to feel her belly, big brothers said "No way!", but I really wanted to. Even though I had mittens on, I could still feel it move in her belly, and it felt really funny!

We ate lotsa food after that. There was cake, too! And some presents. Little big brother looked so happy. He was having a lot of fun, just like the rest of us. It was nice to see that after watching him be so serious over all his reading and studying and practicing. And then, as Mrs. Hughes was bringing us out some tea, she fell down, making sounds like she was in pain. When Mr. Hughes asked her what was wrong, she said she was having the baby! I don't think I've ever seen so much panic in my life! Mr. Hughes ran out to get a doctor, leaving me and big brothers there to help her. We had absolutely no idea what to do, so we just followed what she said. Little big brother got her hot water and bigger brother got towels. I just stayed by her side, even though she was yelling in pain a lot. But then, when we thought the pain had stopped, she yelled some more... then nothing... We all started screaming 'cause we thought she had died! I cried while big brothers tried to figure out what to do. Little big brother started getting mad at himself for not being able to do anything, so I thought maybe he could get more hot water since the water we had had gone cold. But when he leaned down to pick it up, light came out of his hands and the bowl, and then the water was steaming! I'm not sure what happened, because he didn't even use one of his magic circles, but it didn't matter for long, because the baby started to come out again. Luckily, Mr. Hughes and doctor showed up to help take care of things. Later, Mrs. Hughes thanked us as she cradled her new baby.

That had been the most incredible experience of my life. Big brothers would probably agree.

* * *

Finally, the big day arrived, the one big brothers had been practicing for: The Alchemy Exam! They were really worried, and after they came out from the first part, they looked even more worried. Bigger brother was saying something about a "physical exam" while little big brother was worried that he had passed at all. I was later told that bigger brother dropped out for some weird reason, leaving little big brother to take it all by himself. I was worried for him, so I drew him a picture! It had me and Alexander and big brothers on it, and at the top was a magic circle so that it could help make his wish of becoming a State Alchemist come true. Then he went... I told bigger brother how worried I was, but he said not to worry, 'cause little big brother had my circle, so he was bound to pass. That made me feel better.

As we were waiting, we could hear a lot of stuff going on. There was rumbling, sparkling, yelling... We say a giant tower reach to the sky, like it had come out of nowhere! And then, at the top of that tower there was a light, and suddenly it was raining flowers! Magic flowers! It was the prettiest thing I had ever seen, and I knew that it had to have been little big brother's alchemy that had made it! After that, we KNEW he had passed! How could anyone not like that magic trick?

That puts us here, where now that one task is out of the way, it's time for another. Daddy's test is coming up, and he's getting really, really worried. He drifts off a lot, thinking about what to do, getting nervous, and he looks at me a lot, too, like I might have an answer for him. I don't, though I really wish I did. Daddy works so hard, and he's always so scared. I want to help, but there's nothing I can do. I don't think big brothers could do much for him, either.

Little big brother has been asking Daddy a lot of questions lately, ever since he got here. He's a State Alchemist, too, so they're probably talking with a bunch of big words. I have fun with Alexander while they talk. But I did notice that whenever they talk, Daddy seems a little hurt. I ask him where he hurts and he just smiles and says he's fine. I smile, too. If Daddy's fine, then I'm fine.

The other State Alchemists have been coming by every now and then. They talk to Daddy, tell him to hurry up, and leave. Little big brother talks to him more, and then we eat dinner and go to bed. One night, I was in big brother's room, wondering what they were doing. Little big brother was at the desk, writing something. I asked if it was for his girlfriend, and he started yelling, "Of course not! Don't be ridiculous!" But he was blushing, so he must've been lying. Bigger brother teased him and laughed while little big brother yelled some more. I laughed, too, then sat down on the floor and decided to make a letter for Mommy. They asked me how she left us, and I told them exactly as I had heard. Mommy didn't like Daddy anymore, called him "good for nothing alchemist", and left. I wrote lotsa letters to her, but she never replied to any of them. I turned sad. "I hope this one reaches her..." I started coloring a picture of the four of us: me, Daddy, and Mommy, and Alexander, letting her know we could all be together again 'cause Daddy was gonna ace the "azezment" and keep the house. I fell asleep after a while to the sound of little big brother's pen scribbling and bigger brother talking every now and then. I wasn't sure how much later it was, but I heard Daddy come in. He picked me and up and looked at my picture. I could feel him smile. "My wife," he said. "She left us two years ago." He told them the story, letting them know how worried he was that he wouldn't pass the test, and almost near sleep, I could only give him a few words.

"Daddy, you could pass it just like that."

And then his smile disappeared...

Later, he carried me out of the room, and as I started to drift off to sleep completely, I heard something... Paper crumpling... and..."Nina..."

* * *

State Alchemists came by the house later. I really big mean one said big brother's couldn't stay here anymore. When they were leaving, I asked where they were going, and bigger brother said "Don't worry. We'll come back and play real soon. I promise." I was really sad that they were leaving, but I knew that being sad only made it harder for them, so I smiled and said, "Don't forget!"

After they left, the big mean State Alchemist talked to Daddy alone, which didn't help Daddy much because he looked even more stressed out than before. He was sitting by himself at the dinner table in the dining room late that night. All I could hear was the clock ticking. I walked in, not sure if I should say anything to him or not. But he looked hurt... So I asked him, "Daddy, does it hurt somewhere?" He looked at me with really sad eyes, then kneeled down and hugged me, saying, "I'm... at the end of the line here... Nina..." I smiled for him, because I knew he couldn't.

I went to bed after that, dressing in my pajamas, kissing Alexander good night, and climbing into bed. Even though I was scared for Daddy and big brothers, I still went to sleep, because I knew worrying wouldn't solve anything. I knew then that in the morning... I should draw another magic circle! One for Daddy, one for Mommy, one for big brothers, and one for me and Alexander! Then our wishes will come true! Happy with my new decision, I fell asleep, already dreaming up my new pictures.

I don't know how late into the night it was, but sometime after I fell asleep, I woke again to find myself being carried. My eyes opened. "Daddy?"

He didn't answer.

Daddy was carrying me, but where? I didn't recognize this part of the house... And I was still so sleepy... Where was he taking me, and why? The room was too dark... I couldn't see, but I could hear a lot of scary noises. Like monsters. They were everywhere, on every wall, screaming, crying. I was afraid. I clung to Daddy, afraid that he'd leave me alone in here, but he didn't. He carried me into the next room, back towards a wall. He set me on the ground, in the middle of one of those magic circles that little big brother liked to draw, except this one was different. It looked like it was a lot harder to draw. I looked up at Daddy. "Daddy? What's going on?"

He didn't say anything. He walked to another part of the room, kneeled down... and came back with Alexander in his arms, asleep. I watched him. How did Alexander sleep through all that noise in the next room?

Daddy set Alexander down beside me in the circle. I reached out and pet Alexander. He was snorting in his sleep. I wanted to laugh at that, but I was still too scared. I had a bad feeling about all this... When I looked up Daddy, he was reading a book. I could see him shaking, too. His hands trembled when he put the book down. Next, he kneeled down in front of me and hugged me. "Nina... You know how we like to play 'hide and seek'?"

"Y-Yeah?"

He pulled back, looking at me with his hands on my shoulders. The light was shining in his glasses, so I couldn't see what his expression was. But he did smile a little. "Well, we're gonna play, okay? So I want you to close your eyes and count to ten. And no peeking." He stood up, walking to a table and picking up a piece of chalk. I think I started to cry a little. I was really scared.

"Daddy, what was all the noise in that room? Were those monsters?"

"Close your eyes, Nina."

I started to shake. Sniffling, I put my hands over my eyes and shut them.

"Daddy, I'm scared."

"Start counting."

"Are you going to hide, Daddy?"

"No, Nina. When you open your eyes, I'll still be here. And hopefully... so will you."

I cried. I sobbed, trying hard not to be noisy like Daddy and Mommy had always told me not to. "I... I wanna see Mommy."

"...You probably will, Nina. If you're not still here when you're done counting, then you'll see her."

Something... hurt inside of me. Mommy... Mommy wasn't here anymore. Mommy wasn't here. Mommy... was dead. Mommy was dead.

I cried and cried, but Daddy told me to count. I could hear his footsteps coming closer. My heart was beating so fast. It pounded in my chest real hard, all because of how afraid I was. And I could feel it through my whole body... My pulse. It pounded very hard. I knew that I could've run if I wanted. The house, my bedroom was just beyond these walls, but those monsters in the next room... could I make it past them? Would Daddy catch me first? Or should I move at all? No... This is what Daddy wants. I have to do this. Sniffling and trying not to be noisy, I lowered my head more and started counting. "1... 2... 3..."

I heard chalk on the floor.

"4..."

"Nina..."

"5..."

"Please understand... Science is so powerful, and to accomplish a task like this with such a force as alchemy... It's harder to pass it up than to watch this happen."

"6..."

"I do love you. I love you both. And I loved your mother."

"7..."

"But this assessement could be the end, and if I don't do this, everything will only we worse for all of us."

"8..."

"So this may as well happen to you. Who knows, it could be better than what may happen if I fail the assessement."

"9..."

"Nina... At this point... Both you and Alexander have become expendable science projects."

"...10."

I heard his hands slap to the floor, and then the light... It beamed right through my lids. I looked up to see Daddy, but he disappeared into the light. Everything was bright and hot. Alexander had vanished, and I was alone, sitting in this sparkling light... I think, in the distance, I could see a door. It was very large, and I wanted to go to it, to see what was through it, but something pulled me back. I heard Alexander barking behind me, and when I turned to look, everything stopped. There was nothing but black now. Thick, black smoke. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see or hear. I couldn't move... I couldn't do anything.

And then... there was... pain. So much pain. I screamed and cried. It felt like someone was cutting my body wide open. I screamed and screamed. I couldn't make the pain stop. I was crying so hard. It hurt in every part of my body. I cried out for Daddy, for Mommy, for big brothers, but no one answered. I was alone. I was all alone. No one could stop the hurting. No one could make it go away. No one was here to listen to me, to hear me scream. Did that mean... that I wasn't still home anymore? Did that mean I would see Mommy soon?

Did that mean I was dead?

Then... I heard a voice. Someone asked, "What's wrong, Nina?" It sounded... like Daddy. So I looked for him, and I answered... "It hurts here." And I wrapped my arms around myself, but found out I... I didn't have arms anymore. Or legs. I didn't even have a body. It was gone. I was gone.

Everything... fell silent. But the pain continued. And I continued to cry.

* * *

I had no idea how long I'd been asleep, but I woke up eventually... And everything still hurt. My body was so sore... Was this even my body? I tried to look down, but I couldn't move my head that way. Everything felt different. I opened my eyes and found that I couldn't see very well. Everything was so blurry, like looking through a fishtank. My head... hurt so bad...

_PLEASE LET IT STOP!!!_

Who was that? I could hear another person. It wasn't a voice... just another person there, pushing out all this fear and pain, and I could hear all of it as if they were actually speaking. And this person... it felt... like Alexander.

_MAKE IT STOP!!!_

Alexander was crying. I could hear him crying with fear and pain in my head. It felt like he was trying to get inside my mind, trying to scream louder, trying to hard to tell me what was wrong.

"Nimma?"

It... was very muffled, like when I didn't want to hear something and had my hands over my ears. But I heard it. It was Daddy's voice. Daddy was here. I was still here! I was okay! I was so happy, I lifted my head, only to find that I couldn't move it very well, and when I did, it hurt. Screaming pain all through my body, like my muscles were being torn. I cried out, screaming, begging Daddy to make it stop OH GOD MAKE IT STOP and struggling to just keep my voice down. Did I even have a voice? I didn't want to disappoint Daddy. I knew he had done all this for a reason, and if I didn't help him, it would all be for nothing. Was this his "azezment? Was this what he had wanted to do? Why did it have to hurt me, though?

"Nimma, camm you ans...r me?"

I struggled, the pain screaming through my body real bad. Crying, sobbing, I managed to sit up... but not in a way I was used to. My arms, other than the pain, felt very different. And my legs... They were bent funny. And... it was so much hotter in here than before.

"Nimma... who am I?"

He was kneeling down in front of me. He was still blurry, but he put his face close to mine, and I could see him much clearer. I tried to smile, but found that I couldn't. I couldn't... I couldn't smile anymore. I couldn't smile...I cried harder.

"Da...ddy..."

Oh, no... My voice... It sounded so different... What was wrong with it? It was deeper, like it wasn't even mine. What was wrong with me? Why did it hurt so much LET ME DIE through my whole body, and why couldn't I make it stop?

"Da...ddy..."

"Yes... Yes, ve... y good, Nimmma."

He sounded so muffled in my ears. "Very... good..." I repeated, trying to speak normally, but finding that I couldn't. Not anymore.

"I cammm't be...ve I d...d it... It... work...d..." He started talking, standing up and walking away from me. The further he moved from me, the blurrier and more muffled he became. I called for him in this unfamiliar voice, but he didn't pay attention. He was walking all over the place, saying stuff... ignoring me. My whole body hurt so bad, and he wouldn't help. He didn't even look back at me. Daddy didn't want to look at me anymore. Probably because... I'm not me. I'm not Nina anymore, even though that's what he calls me. I'm one of Daddy's science experiments. Me and Alexander both... We had been put together with magic circles and alchemy. I couldn't even guess what we looked like... Probably very ugly. Probably so ugly that Daddy didn't even want to look. We were bad to him.

We were a monster.

"Da...ddy," I called again, and in my ears I heard Alexander's cries, those high-pitched whines he made when he was sad. "Da...ddy... It hurts... here..." It was so hard to speak. I could open my mouth, but it felt so different, so funny, and then my throat just closed up so I had to force the words out. I knew how to say them. I pictured them so well in my head. But they just... wouldn't come out right. Was this part of Daddy's experimenting, too? Since this body obviously wasn't mine, or not mine alone, I had to learn to speak IT HURTS IT HURTS PLEASE NO MORE again?

Oh... Oh, no...

Daddy told me about this. He told me the incredible thing he had made two years ago that got him to be a State Alchemist was a creature that could speak like a human. That must be... what I am now. But that means Daddy didn't create it out of nothing. He made it from something else.

It... couldn't...

It couldn't have been... Mommy... could it?

I wanted to ask him. I wanted to ask him a million questions, but they didn't come out. All I could hear myself say outloud was, "M...ommy is..."

Daddy said something.

"Will... I... die?"

Daddy said something else, except louder this time. At first, I thought he was yelling at me, and I lowered my head a little, which caused a million terrible pains in my neck. But then, a moment later in the doorway, I could see a large gray splotch... and a smaller red one. Brothers... big brothers were here! I wanted to run to them, but Daddy stood in front of me, saying something to them, and a few seconds later, he stepped to the side, showing me to them. When he did that, I suddenly remembered what I must've looked like and cried again. They loved me as a little girl... What would they think of me when they saw me like this? I hung my head, ashamed of what I had become.

I could hear bigger brother's voice PLEASE SAVE ME PLEASE OH GOD PLEASE, and then little big brother. I wanted to run. I wanted to hide so they couldn't see me. Daddy suddenly stood beside me, and I could hear him, though it was still muffled. "Listemm, dear... This is y...r friemmd, Edward."

I sobbed inwardly, knowing that this is what Daddy had meant for me to become, and this was what I was supposed to do. So I had to obey. I had to do it, 'cause Daddy had gone through all the trouble of changing me and Alexander for his "azezment". Ashamed, I looked up at little big brother.

"Ed...ward, my friend."

"Yes, that's ver... good," Daddy said, somewhat happy.

"That's... very...good."

Bigger brother spoke some. He sounded excited. I cried. I cried so hard. I was a monster for everyone's enjoyment, and big brothers no longer loved me like they did before... I was just another piece of alchemy to them now. Like the magic flowers, except I wasn't pretty, but... but I'd probably wither just as fast.

I expected them to try things with me, like make me walk or do tricks or something, but to my amazement, when little big brother stepped forward... all he did was kneel. I could almost see his face... He seemed sad. I looked up at him. I couldn't see him as clearly as I wanted, though. Little big brother was always such a nice face to look into, even if he always seemed like he was fighting someone. I moved closer. When I did, Alexander's instincts must've taken over, since dogs recognize by smell. He sniffed little big brother, then lowered his... _our_ head down to his pocket. I wanted to scold Alexander when he immediately went for brother's pocket watch, the one he got as a state alchemist, the one... Alexander always took. Little big brother... he would recognize this, right? He knew the only one who played with his watch was Alexander. Would he see us? Although I really wanted big brothers to know it was us in here, that we were in pain and in trouble... I was still scared to see their faces when they realized the truth. They'd be so shocked... and disgusted. Thank goodness my vision was all blurry. Then I wouldn't have to see their expressions of horror.

But even still... if I'm going to die... I want them to know it was us. I want them to know what happened to us. I don't want them to think that we just left without saying goodbye.

I wanna tell them I'm sorry for what we've become.

I raised my head, the pain still unbearable, and I looked little big brother in the eyes as best as I could. "Edward, my... friend..."

Quietly, he said, "...Yeah... That's right." He knew. He knew it was us. I began to cry on the inside again. Please help us, big brother. Please take away the pain I WANT TO DIE.

"Edward, why.. does it hurt here?"

He looked like he was hurt. He stood quickly and began talking to Daddy. Only a few sentences, but I couldn't really understand what they were saying. It was so muffled. I wanted to get closer so I could hear, so I began to stand up, but it... it just hurt so bad. I couldn't take the pain much more. Every single time I tried to move, a new muscle felt like it was ripping away. I kept trying to stand, taking a few aching steps towards them, but then little big brother moved at Daddy really fast. He had him against the wall, a fist near his neck. Was... was he going to hurt him? Was little big brother upset about what happened to me?

I cried. Did... did he still love me?

They talked for a moment, sounding very angry... and then brother punched him in the face, really hard. He was about to again, but bigger brother stopped him... I could hear him talking. Daddy spoke again... and then little big brother punched him again, stopping for a moment... then he really started beating him up. He kept punching him again and again, harder and harder each time. Daddy was getting hurt... all because of me. All because of me. If we hadn't of let big brother known it was us... he might not be so angry. I had messed up. It was all my fault. I had to stop it. I moved forward as fast as I could, getting behind little big brother. All I could see was a large blur of red. That was his coat, that long, pretty one I liked so much. With Alexander's growling in my ears, I opened our mouth and bit down on the edge of the coat, the only thing I could find the strength to do.

He stopped almost immediately. He knew it was me behind him. Slowly, he turned and looked down at me. Once I knew his eyes were gazing down at me, I let go of his coat.

"No... big brother..."

This voice... Will he recognize this voice? I call him big brother, so will he understand that?

He put his arms down and turned to face me, then kneeled down to look at me more closely. "Nimma, I wan.. you to bear w...th me, okay?" He stood straight again and rose his hands a little. Bigger brother said something, then Daddy... and then little big brother stopped. He looked scared. What was going on? Was I still messing things up? This whole deal was about me... I turned to bigger brother then, looking up at him for help.

"You promised you'd... come play with me..."

Sadly, he said, "I know," while petting my head... He's done that before. He did it to make me feel better. Bigger brother knew it was me, too. He was trying to make me feel better now. Big brothers... still loved me. I cried, but this time out of happiness. They love me... They still love me, Nina.

A moment later, I could just barely hear footsteps behind me. I turned to look. A long line of blue... State Alchemists. Oh, no... Was Daddy gonna get in trouble? What about big brothers? They weren't supposed to be here anymore... Was this all my fault? Were they gonna get in trouble 'cause of me? They talked for a moment before a few of the men grabbed me and dragged me out the door. I went as quickly as I could, knowing that if I disobeyed, it'd only cause more trouble for everybody. But I was so scared. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to leave Daddy and big brothers. They'd keep me safe. I didn't know these men. What would they HELP ME HELP ME PLEASE I'M DYING do with me? Were they going to put me in some place where they kept all the monsters people like Daddy made? Or were they going to kill me?

They led me out into what I'm guessing was a truck. They doors opened, and all I saw was black. I was really, really scared. So was Alexander. I fought his urge to run and calmly went into the darkness. They shut the doors, I heard what I thought was a car starting... and then we were moving. They were taking me away, some place where I'd never see anybody I ever knew again. But we didn't get very far. The truck began to shake violently, and soon the whole thing flipped over. I cried out of fear and pain as I landed on my back. It was more pain than I could take, and I curled up in my mind, letting Alexander take over. 'Course, the first thing he did was climb to his feet and jump out of the truck. He landed on the ground, where he sniffed around for a bit in confusion. Then we could hear my name being called real loud.

"NINA!"

Alexander looked up. We could see big brothers just down the road. I was scared. I had caused so much trouble. I couldn't bear to face them anymore. I couldn't bear to be so ashamed. I was a monster and there was no way to change me back. There was no way to love a monster, especially a monster like me... I forced myself back into control and ran in whatever direction was away from them. They shouted for me, but I ran even faster, though it hurt very, very badly to do it. Sobbing hard, I ran street after street, just barely missing cars and things left in the road. Finally, I couldn't breathe. I had run so far, so fast... Our body just couldn't take anymore. I stopped near a black road. Darkness must've meant shadows, which meant covering, which meant safety. They wouldn't find us in here. I slowly walked in, trying hard to focus my eyes on what was down here. I think it was a dead-end. And there was something else here, too... A person. A man. A big man. He was sitting in a corner. He looked very lonely. Wheezing, I went up to him, wondering if he would reject me as well. Surely a lonely man would find good company in anyone, right? Would he hate me? Would I be too hideous for him?

I stopped in front of him, breathing hard, crying, sobbing, trying to stop the aching pain in my body. I could only hope he'd just see us as a dog... a very strange dog.

The man, a tall person with white hair and dark skin, rose his arm slowly and put it on my head. I thought he was going to pet me, which meant he thought I was just a dog. But then his arm showed a strange red color... a bright red light. I was surprised. Alchemy? It looked like the light when big brothers did alchemy. Then... he would know what had happened to me. He would know that we're actually a monster. Would he know how to fix us? Could he make all of this better?

He began to speak, saying something in a very low voice. He seemed very kind. I liked him. The way he had been sitting here alone... People must not like him, either. He might be a monster to them. How funny that two monsters find each other like this. I smiled on the inside. I wasn't alone anymore. This man could make things better, and then I could go back to Daddy and big brothers, and we could all play together again, just like how it was supposed to be, just like it was before I messed everything up.

His words grew louder, but only a little. The magic light began to come off of his arm again. I could feel something, then... A warmth entering through my head. This man was using alchemy on me? Why? Was he fixing us? He was going to make it MAKE IT STOP I'M DYING better! The light was glowing brighter. It filled my vision, and then I felt the light enter my hea

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Ze end.

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AN: YES, the last line was supposed to cut off like that. If you've seen the episode, you know why. 

As a note, I'm sorry that I couldn't remember the exact dialogue of this episode. I tried hard to remember, and I reviewed a few times. But I wasn't going to check 200 times, so I just left some words the way they were, whether or not they were right.

This story was supposed to sound like it was coming from a four year old girl. I know some of it sounded a little too advanced for her, but it's hard to tell a good story from the viewpoint of a little girl, and one with a limited vocabulary, at that. If I didn't do such a good job, lemme know. Not that I'll ever write from the viewpoint of a four year old again... but I should know if I dissatisfied you homies.

Anyway, liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Lemme know! I'm open to suggestions, criticizing, comments, flames, love, and transmutations.

Review! Reviewing my story will make Ed grow taller!... If not taller, then he'll get hotter! So let's make Ed hotter! Review!


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